HOW SOCCER LEAGUES ARE BENEFICIAL FOR KIDS

Known worldwide as football, soccer happens to be one of the most popular sports in the world, with over 240 million people playing and/or following the sport on a regular basis. Due to its cadenced and metric style of being played, it’s fair to say that it is just as much fun to watch soccer, as it is to play it.

The growing popularity of the sport over the years has helped in the materialisation of soccer leagues/tournaments locally, and across cities/countries. Such leagues and tournaments offer a platform for children to grow and develop in several aspects of life. Competitive tournaments act as the missing link to a child’s comprehensive development, along with teaching them several life values.

TEAM BUILDING:

Participating in leagues involves team building. Being on a team is one thing; learning to be a productive member of the team is another. Playing in teams helps teach children certain essential life lessons, such as obedience, compliance, loyalty, answerability to others, and setting and accomplishing collective goals. Team Building teaches the kids the kids these values and also helps solidify them in the young players’ minds.

PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT:

In today’s date, where smartphones, social media and video games dominate our lives, it can be a bit of a task to keep a child physically active and engaged. Physical fitness is one its the major benefits, and subsequently has a positive effect on the child’s holistic health and development. According to several studies, it’s highly recommended that children get at least 60 minutes of rigorous physical activity in a day, therefore, getting the child involved in a soccer league/tournament would help keep the children engaged for s longer duration, as they would be involved in daily training, on and off the field.

Soccer comprises of aerobic and anaerobic elements for which high levels of fitness in players is a requisite. It requires children to be involved in a wide range of activities such as running, sprinting, jumping, core workouts, etc. Overall, being involved in regular soccer training could improve the cardiovascular health, and also helps build muscle strength, thereby elevating energy levels, developing agility, speed, quick reflex responses, and stamina.

SOCIAL-EMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT:

Playing in a team helps in developing children’s ability to work collectively, coordinate, cooperate and interact with other children. In order to win a game, there has to be excellent communication amongst the teammates. It teaches children the valuable lessons of life, that of teamwork and sportsmanship, which encourages the fostering of healthy and positive peer interactions. As far as emotional development is concerned, competitive soccer leagues help children learn how to manage emotions; getting themselves all hyped up for the game, controlling their emotions when they don’t get their way, good sportsmanship, coping up with a tough loss or not letting a victory get to their heads, are certain things that a child can take back from the field and also implement these values in their lives outside of the soccer pitch.

Through participation in such leagues, the children undergo an enhanced sense of self-confidence and increased social skills as working in teams pushes the children to socialise in ways that are not taught at school. Several studies also suggest that children who are involved in competitive sports tend to perform at an above-average level in school, due to the increased level of confidence and stamina, that boosts their mental health.

OBEDIENCE, COMMITMENT, AND DISCIPLINE:

Soccer can be seen as a fun way to teach children the importance of compliance and obedience. As the coach for the children’s soccer team instructs and guides them through the training sessions, telling them through the training sessions, telling what is required to be done in order for them to be successful in winning the game, the children learn to pay attention to something that can help them to excel; they learn to respect the opinions and instructions of the coach, they learn to follow directions.

Playing competitive sport demands great amount of discipline, more so than playing a sport for recreational purposes. Competitive soccer requires much more work apart from the daily sessions, on and off the field, for the children’s skill and fitness level to improve. This helps to develop in the children a sense oaf commitment and discipline, and these are the values that can help the children their lives outside of soccer as well.

FORGING BONDS:

Getting children to get involved in competition soccer leagues can prove to be fruitful for the parents as it helps strengthening the bond between them as when the parents take interest in something that is important to their children, it lets them know that they care, and it also increases the amount of quality time that the parents and the children get to spend together. Moreover, when the children see their parents cheering for them, they feel confident that the parents believe in them, and are there for them.

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Published by TSCAsia

TSC Asia is a global sports corporation. Our core objective is to bring about the development of sports by connecting institutions with top level professionals.
We are currently operating in six different verticals in the sports arena, namely: Grassroots Training, Event Management, International Sports Education Programs, Personnel Management, School Training Programs, and Gaming.
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